Helping #PeaceDay Reach a Global Audience of 382 million

Can a hashtag heal the world? OK, we admit it. It probably can’t. Only people and governments and real-world action can do that. But in today’s connected world, social media helps ideas get shared. And when ideas get shared, minds get altered.

A hashtag can serve as a way to deliver a global message, and gives individuals around the world an opportunity to add their voice to a community or cause they believe in.

CAMPAIGNTo help promote the United Nations’ International Day of Peace on September 21, 2014, the Levity Dept. worked with our client Pathways to Peace to promote a “Right to Peace” selfie campaign tied directly to the UN’s theme (“The Right of Peoples to Peace”). The campaign was promoted through the official International Day of Peace page on Facebook, a new IDP website and via Twitter and other social channels.

The “Right to Peace” selfie campaign gave people an easy way to express their commitment to peace using either the simple, printable artwork we provided or their own handmade signs.

In addition to the selfie campaign, The Levity Dept. and Pathways to Peace collaborated with peace organizations around the world to promote and share a wide variety of visual, video and informational content all tied to the #PeaceDay hashtag.

RESULTSTotal social media reach of the #PeaceDay hashtag grew more than 100-fold, from 3.4 million in 2013 to 382 million in 2014, with #PeaceDay trending throughout the day on Facebook. The Peace Day Facebook page received over 15,000 new likes during one month of campaigning, including 8,200 new likes during Peace Week. There were also 409,200 post clicks, 161,500 likes, 24,000 shares and 5,000 comments on Peace Day content. On Twitter, @PathwaysToPeace followers increased 100% - from 975 to 1900.